Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kuala Belait and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $490 a month against $1,699 in Kuala Belait, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

84

Cost of Living Index in Kuala Belait
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Kuala Belait Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Kuala Belait

🇧🇳 Brunei

$1,699

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$490

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kuala Belait and in Karachi

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Kuala Belait and in Karachi actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,699 in Kuala Belait versus $490 in Karachi.

Kuala Belait $1,699
Karachi $490

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,569 in Kuala Belait versus $755 in Karachi.

Kuala Belait $2,569
Karachi $755

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,438 in Kuala Belait versus $1,019 in Karachi.

Kuala Belait $3,438
Karachi $1,019

Living in Kuala Belait is roughly 247% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kuala Belait is 27% above, Karachi is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.91 BND 10.12

$2.15 PKR 596

267.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.43 BND 59.4

$13.37 PKR 3,700

247.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.85 BND 10.05

$5.29 PKR 1,464

48.39%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 BND 2.57

$2.19 PKR 606

-8.22%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 BND 3.06

$7.25 PKR 2,005

-67.03%

Cappuccino

$4.41 BND 5.64

$2.11 PKR 583

109.00%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 BND 1.15

$0.37 PKR 103

140.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 BND 0.64

$0.28 PKR 78.2

78.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 BND 2.36

$0.86 PKR 238

113.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.43 BND 3.12

$0.52 PKR 144

367.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 BND 2.88

$1.24 PKR 344

81.45%

Eggs

$2.58 BND 3.31

$1.24 PKR 342

108.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.59 BND 23.80

$5.86 PKR 1,622

217.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 BND 12.61

$3.12 PKR 862

215.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.88 BND 31.85

$6.25 PKR 1,731

298.08%

Apples (1kg)

$4.69 BND 6.00

$1.29 PKR 356

263.57%

Banana (1kg)

$2.17 BND 2.78

$0.54 PKR 150

301.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.83 BND 6.18

$0.99 PKR 273

387.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 BND 3.17

$0.56 PKR 155

341.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 BND 2.19

$0.33 PKR 91.6

418.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.90 BND 3.71

$0.35 PKR 95.9

728.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$5.54 BND 7.09

$0.45 PKR 124

1131.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 BND 1.19

$0.44 PKR 121

111.36%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$11.59 BND 14.84

$1.23 PKR 341

842.28%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.99 BND 7.67

$1.37 PKR 381

337.23%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 PKR 676

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.86 BND 10.07

$1.79 PKR 497

339.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 76.5

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.68 PKR 2,679

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 BND 5.11

$0.92 PKR 255

333.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 BND 4.39

$0.71 PKR 196

383.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.59 BND 14.84

$2.22 PKR 615

422.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.35 BND 0.45

$1.35 PKR 372

-74.07%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$30.7K BND 39.3K

$17.8K PKR 4.9M

72.03%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$27.2K BND 34.9K

$26.7K PKR 7.4M

1.89%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$38.45 BND 49.23

$112 PKR 30.9K

-65.61%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.58 BND 27.63

$6.05 PKR 1,673

256.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.4 BND 82.4

$13.29 PKR 3,679

384.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$95.9 BND 123

$21.51 PKR 5,954

345.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.34 BND 35.00

$17.80 PKR 4,927

53.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.51 BND 7.05

$4.42 PKR 1,222

24.66%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$217 BND 278

$50.7 PKR 14.0K

328.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,398 BND 12.0K

$1,957 PKR 541.6K

380.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.8 BND 95.8

$17.57 PKR 4,862

325.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$101 BND 129

$22.78 PKR 6,304

341.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 BND 196

$67.6 PKR 18.7K

126.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.4 BND 91.4

$40.97 PKR 11.3K

74.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$753 BND 964

$117 PKR 32.5K

542.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 BND 987

$75.7 PKR 21.0K

918.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 BND 1,527

$365 PKR 101.1K

226.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,177 BND 1,506

$182 PKR 50.5K

545.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,054 PKR 291.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$491 PKR 135.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,398 BND 4,350

$185 PKR 51.2K

1738.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.88

13.21

-70.63%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Kuala Belait: October 4, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Kuala Belait

$771 45.3%

Karachi

$76 15.7% 90.2% $695

Groceries & Markets

Kuala Belait

$354 20.8%

Karachi

$101 20.9% 71.5% $253

Clothing & Footwear

Kuala Belait

$180 10.6%

Karachi

$67 13.9% 62.8% $113

Eating Out

Kuala Belait

$145 8.5%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 58% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kuala Belait

$124 7.3%

Karachi

$131 27.3% 5.4% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Kuala Belait

$107 6.3%

Karachi

$30 6.3% 71.6% $77

Getting Around

Kuala Belait

$21 * 1.2%

Karachi

$15 3.2% 27.9% $5.9

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $753 in Kuala Belait and $117 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kuala Belait pays 1738% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $46.00 in Kuala Belait vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $354 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇳 Kuala Belait

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

19:23 7:23 PM

16:23 4:23 PM

3 h behind Kuala Belait

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,178

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Brunei Dollar BND $

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 BND = 0.781 USD

1 BND = 0.697 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to BND – Brunei Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇳 Brunei Dollar ($)

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 BND (1 BND = 0.697 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

USD to BND in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kuala Belait Karachi 5,510 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Kuala Belait
Karachi

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Kuala Belait vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kuala Belait and Karachi differ by about 247% in total monthly costs ($1,699 vs $490 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1738% higher in Kuala Belait, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $753 in Kuala Belait versus $117 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 251% higher in Kuala Belait. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,699 per month in Kuala Belait versus $490 in Karachi – a 247% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $490 in Karachi versus $1,699 in Kuala Belait, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Kuala Belait. The gap between the two cities makes Karachi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Kuala Belait and Karachi are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 247% less than in Kuala Belait. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.